Im Coming Home
by SpartanEra
Summary: To be honest, I don't know how I am still alive. When the outbreak first came through, there was panic in the streets. Panic that got people killed, or worse. Now I am just trying to find my way back, afraid to be... The Last of Us. Inspired by , "Still Human." Rated M cause on the safe side and swearing.
1. Chapter 1: An Unexpected Reunion

I'm Coming Home

By SpartanEra

Summary: To be honest, I don't know how I am still alive. When the outbreak first came through, there was panic in the streets. Panic that got people killed, or worse. Now I am just trying to find my way back, afraid to be... The Last of Us. Inspired by beba. santos .56 (without spaces), "Still Human."

I do not own The Last of Us. All rights belong to Naughty Dog.

Updated: 4/7/14

Oh and before I forget, I would appreciate any ideas for names of our lovely woman of the story. Thank you! I was going to go with a default name (Jane) but I still dont know.

* * *

"Hello?" The question echoed through the hallways of the old abandoned high school.

I know someone is here. The infected have been going all crazy outside. The only logical reason would be hunters… or survivors.

People. I know the movements and language of the infected enough to understand. I don't know if that's a good or a bad thing. My life has survived solely on luck and support with many years of experience with this apocalyptic earth to know what it takes for a human to become...inhuman.

To be honest, I don't know how I am still alive. When the outbreak first came through, there was panic in the streets; chaos, the kind that got people killed, or worse. It's been two years since I got separated from my group. We were in a jam, with nowhere else to go. I made them leave, I made him leave, forced them to leave me behind. By luck alone, I survived that encounter, but not unscathed. I got by with a few scrapes and bruises, and what I think is a... Mushroom?

A bite. A human-teeth-shaped bite.

Yes. I'm infected. Not denying it. I guess I should be lucky; I didn't turn into one of those... Things. Lucky. What I got was a plant growing out of the bite in my leg. It gets itchy sometimes, an annoyance among other things. I still look human, a praise. At least the last time I checked.

Every once in a while, my mind would wonder back to how it was before. The place where I could do the things I had planned for, and have a great future with my family. But I can't change the past. I have to have to keep moving; keep surviving. That's what they would want me to do. What he would want me to do.

_No. They would want you to live. So why can't you live_?

_I can't. It's not possible with the world like this. Not anymore_, I reasoned.

Nothing is impossible. I blocked it out. It's nothing I haven't heard before. But...

Why can't I live?

Why can't_ I_ be _norma_l?

Why do I always question myself with this?

My mind is barley holding on as it is. Even without addition of the infection, the thoughts always resurfaced. Before I was always the lone wolf of a group; never the social type. There was only one person that I could work with. My mission was to find him.

I watched day by day, year by year as he changed. The man I once knew was covered by another. For a while we were three, later we became two. By two, we conquered those without any strength, and those without any remorse. We never truly lived, we just survived. In the end, it wasn't hard to adapt in a world of monsters and traitors. Friend against each other for survival.

Heh. Yeah. Survival.

That word has changed so many times throughout the years that I don't think anyone knows the real meaning anymore. Along with many of the past necessities of life; things we took for granted.

The sudden noise of someone banging on a door disrupted me from my thoughts; the clicker's noises started to escalate. What's gotten into these guys?

_Curiosity killed the cat, they said._

"They've broken through!" Male. Adult. Familiar. Curious my brain said. Turning into the room ahead, I could hear more cries of the infected racing down the hallways and banging on the doors to reach their prey. I slowly made my into a classroom near the commotion, the distinct sound of a metal hitting flesh, _Knife_, made me stop. Multiple cries of the infected warned the others of their presence.

I heard another voice; I couldn't make out what the words. But lost hope filled my chest. "Down the hall. I bet we can cut through those classrooms." The man continued, as though unaware of the previous voice.

An infected runner bumped into from behind causing me to stumble forward, out of my cover. The only thing this infection in me that I am thankful for is that any infected individual does not and cannot see me as a threat. The infected man looked back at me, screeched, and then continued his limp walk down the hallway. I blinked, surprised by the sudden outburst, the echoing footfalls of the infected moved along.

"Goddammit, kid." The man from before swore. I could see a faint memory of this man.

"What the fuck do you think I was supposed to do? Lie down and play dead? He was coming straight at me." A young girl responded. Strange. The usual hunters or scavengers don't have little girls with them; it's mostly groups of men.

"Leave her alone, Bill. We need to get out of here." Another male. Different from the last one, deeper. Familiar.

* * *

_He smiles at her beaming with pride. "Come on!" I say to them, waving my hand ahead "Let's get a picture of our champ!" My face hurts from smiling for so long._

_A young blond girl walks up with a big smile on her face, tugging a man by the arm, "Come on, dad! Be in the picture with me!"_

_"Alright. Alright, fine." The father reluctantly agrees, "Aren't you goin' to be joining us?" his thick southern accent filtering thorough, asking as he turns to me._

_"Oh no. I am fine right here. Away from the muddy little kid." I smile. They're really happy. He's really happy._

_"Hey!" the girl's pout betrayed by the slight curve of her lips, "I'm right here."_

_"I know. That's why I said it." My smile only grows as she inspects her muddy soccer uniform. "Come on. Picture." I say waving the camera in front of me._

_"Come here, baby girl." The father says as he raps an arm around her shoulders, giving her a one armed hug. The girl quickly moves her arms up in the air, one arm holding up her trophy high above her head and the other has her hands forming into a peace sign._

_"Say Cheese!" I say as my finger slowly presses down on the button. Carefree smiles planted on their faces as they look into the camera._

* * *

The memory fades, as rush of emotion takes over. I know him. I know him. I know him. I repeat in my head. I try to rack my brain for a name, but it provides none.

"Looks like there's a path down this hallway." The named Bill called out. It's relatively quiet as I go out again, keeping low to the ground. My mind still clouded from the memory. _Find his name!_ My brain persists.

"Help me open this." My mystery man says. I can hear them perfectly; they're right around the corner.

"Alright. Ready?" Bill responds. Bill. Bill. Bill. Oh, Bill. A relatively big guy that has been having problems with the mind, or so we think. He is very paranoid, which would also explain the many traps that I have found and heard go off around town.

Soon after, both men push their weight into the door, willing it to open. "It's not budging." I risk a peak from behind my corner and get a quick look at the survivors. I see the little girl, couldn't be more than fourteen, and two men with an aura around them that speaks experience. I couldn't see their faces, but looking at them I feel like I could trust them. I risk it.

…_Killed the Cat._

"Hey." I catch their attention, walking out from behind my cover. Both men turn to me, hands holding or drawing their weapons toward me; clear surprise written on their faces. I see it know. I see their faces as names start to appear. The man with medium long hair with a large amount of size to their body weight, I recognize as Bill. Next I see a little girl with bright green eyes, that speak tragedy, and brown hair put up into a pony tail, but I have no recollection. Finally, I move my eyes over to the man in the back, finally seeing his face. My breath catches. "Joel?" I breathe, and the memories sprung forth.

* * *

_He looks at me with appreciation as we are finally able to put Sarah to bed._

_I watch him and Sarah chase each other in the back ground until suddenly I am participating as well._

_He sings for Sarah's 10th birthday party, having to play his guitar as well at my successful persuasion._

_I feel joy as she calls me "Mom" after a big incident at school. The look on his face when he hears it is the dictionary definition of pride and affection._

_I watch in horror as the light dims from her eyes, all life receding from the body in his arms._

_He cries for hours begging for his baby girl, and me helplessly watching, feeling empty, with no knowledge of how to comfort us both._

_We look at each other and see the same tragedy in our eyes as realization dawns on us that she's not coming back._

_I watch him harden more and more as each year passes._

_I begged Tommy to stay with us, to not leave his brother at a time like this. He says he's sorry and like that he leaves._

_I see him kill. I see him do things that would have scared me off, if I wasn't already used to it. I saw appreciation as I stuck by him through it all._

_We became a team, trusting each other through the depressed and drunken nights and the days with barely enough ammunition to share between the both of us._

_We befriend a strong and capable woman that helps with the day to day jobs._

_I see the deep sadness and anger in his face as he is forced to leave me behind. I had sustained far too many injuries to make it back. He refuses, but I forced him too. He doesn't say goodbye as we fight back tears, but he lets me know it all when he steals one last kiss._

* * *

I pushed myself out of the memories. Focusing on his face, I saw those brown eyes that have seen the deepest tragedies, and I saw the dark rugged hair from the top of his head to the bottom of his chin; speckled with a few white hairs. He looks almost the same. Almost. A light that was once so bright had dimmed when he watched his only daughter die in his arms and a light so dark had winked out when he had to leave me behind. I blinked my eyes to clear the tears that had formed; I attempted to speak through the lump that had formed in my throat.

_Curiosity did kill the cat, but Satisfaction brought her back. With interest._

Finally I spoke, "Need Help?"

* * *

A/N: ok. i revised this. much more happier. JK. anyways, everyone that has R&R'ed i thank you! if you havent reviewed already, feel free to give your opinion and comments of this story. i have the second chapter written out already, it just needs some major revising. I had updated this because thats what happens when i decided to work on it late. the whole doccument sounded like chopped english to my ears. Thank you all again for reading!


	2. Chapter 2: That's one way

A/N: ok, me writing at whatever at night/morning is a bad idea. Especially with the broken language I have been writing on paper. I blame school, I write a few snippets here and there while I am either bored, or have nothing else to do in class. Others are just drawings of other people and or characters. I am sad how much I had missed out with fanfiction because I only found out about it from a friend in my freshman year of High school. Oh my life wasn't complete till then. And it may not be a good thing.

I want to give a big thanks and I mean a huge thanks to Mason Tims! He Beta read this chapter and was able to make sense of my chopped writing. I honestly would not have been able to finish his chapter without this guy. Go check out his stories! I've read them myself, they are interesting!

Disclamer: Belongs to Naughty Dog.

* * *

"Need Help?" The question was so innocent, the words themselves held no meaning to him. The person behind them, however, was one he had thought would never see again.

The air around him became thick and, his heart sped up; his breathing became labored. A face he thought long forgotten was staring right back at him. She looked different from what he remembered as her light brown hair contrasted against her pale white skin. He could see her eyes still held that intense color of hazel. Her frame was smaller, dwarfed by her armed-to-the-teeth backpack behind. He felt a wave of emotion, not all of it happiness.

"Maggie!" Bill's voice cut through the silence. Ellie jumped a few feet, still feeling tense from the previous events. Maggie, however, took it in stride as she prepared for Bill's encompassing bear hug. To say the atmosphere was uncomfortable would be an understatement.

"Bill," she finally spoke, her voice gave away her obvious weariness, "Nice to see your doing well." She smiled in return to Bill's cheerfulness. Finally she looked to him and a flash of emotion flash in her face; gone as soon as it showed. Her eyes grew soft; Maggie hesitated, thinking over her next actions.

Maggie pulled away from Bill, intent on reuniting with her old friend, "Joel," she started, "long time no see." Her smile turned small, afraid of what his reaction would be.

"Mary," Joel's firm voice responded, "Where the hell have you been?" He could see that she flinched at his words, but they were the truth. If she survived that encounter two years ago, why was he forced to leave her? Why? Why? Why?

"It's a long story, Joel." The survivor dismissed with a sigh. Joel opened his mouth to respond, but she had cut him off, "and don't even think about trying to get me to talk about it now. We don't have the time." The loud shrieks emanating from the hallways behind emphasized her point.

"Fine, but don't you think your off the hook." Joel threatened.

All she did was give a small smile and said, "Wouldn't have it any other way, Cowboy." And walked pass him toward the door. Ah, she can sure push my buttons.

* * *

The reunion could have gone better. She understood his anger. She understood his bashfulness. She understood the confusion that ran through everyone's head. The only thing she didn't understand was their situation. Both of her old friends were traveling with a teenage girl. Why? She questioned.

The three adults took their place in front of the door, waiting for Joel to give the order. "Okay, on three. One. Two. Three." They pushed; the door only moved a fraction. "Again," Joel ordered, "Push." The door opened a foot, "Once more," The three survivors prepped themselves for the final push, "Push!" The door opened another foot, enough to fit everyone through.

Joel went through first, moving the obstruction that was once in front of the door. Bill squeezed through with a curse, helping Joel push. "There's more on the way. Barricade those doors."

I moved to the side to let the girl go and received a fierce glare in return. I heard the infected run towards our group in the hallway, they were close.

"Maggie, hurry up!" cried Joel. I squeezed through the opening of the door just as the two men pushed the object back in front of the door. "This ain't gonna hold them for long." I finally had a look around me, finding our destination.

The gym!

In my attempt at breaking into the school, I had come across a behemoth of an infected creature, in the gym. I had kept my distance from him for he is only one of the few who can see through my infected charade. I do not fully understand how that is possible, but I do not plan on finding out any time soon.

"Joel," I said worryingly, "This is not a good place to be." Just as I finished we could hear banging emanating from the double doors across the gym.

"That don't sound good." Joel whispered; eyes glued to the door. As we watched, the huge bangs intensified, coming faster and harder every time. The doors, after just a few hits, blew open to reveal easily one of the most disgusting things that has ever existed. The bloater, as that was what the military had started to call them, limped through the now broken doors, its body enormous in size. You could see the spore sacks that engulfed its entire body, some actually bearing fluorescent mushrooms that sprouted towards what passed for the thing's head. The head and body were also covered in thick, plate like fungus that acted as a sort of armor. And speaking of the head, did I mention that it had no eyes at all? There is just a massive plate; stopping bullets from doing any damage. The fungus had totally transformed the poor soul; no way of knowing what kind of person the creature was before. All that remained was the text book definition of a monster.

"Oh, no." Joel whispered.

"What the fuck is that?" cried the girl.

"It's a goddam bloater." Bill whispers disbelievingly to himself.

"A. What?" The girl cried.

"Ellie, take cover." Joel pulled out his shotgun, "I got this." Joel reassured as the behemoth shot a spore sack at us.

"What the fuck is it throwing at us?" exclaimed Ellie.

"Just stay away from it, kid." I ordered.

It was only a matter of time till the other infected creatures caught whiff of the spores the bloater shot at us. If we had any chance at surviving this, we had to act now, and fast. We all had moved to the small amount of cover the objects in the room provided, hiding from the creature's sight. I had pulled off my backpack, rummaging through the contraptions that were held within, finally I found it.

"Joel," I called. He looked toward me, "Light 'em up." I tossed him my Molotov. In one motion, he caught the bottle, lit the cloth, and went for it.

The rugged man's aim was true and hit the monstrosity head on. "You got any more?" he asked.

"Yeah," I replied, "Jus' let me know when you need 'em!" Infected started dropping out from the window up ahead, "And we gotta make this quick."

* * *

It has been only a few minutes since we engaged the behemoth of a creature and already we were being overrun by the infected. So far I had been able to throw 1 more Molotov and a small pack of explosives, I had crafted together from a box of old fireworks, at the bloater; but it didn't seem to be making much of an impact. We needed to make a more direct approach.

Bill had migrated to the back of the gym, picking off the infected that poured through the openings the wall provided. The little girl was just off to the side, avoiding both fights altogether. She seemed mostly likely having a desire to provide some help, but she either could or would not have been able to. Joel had been able to throw in his own concoctions of sorts towards the creature, but to no avail. We still had to avoid the volley of spore sacks the monster continuously launched at us.

I pulled my beloved pistol, as well as my remaining Molotov bottle out, with the intention of finishing this. Without the use of a proper weapon, bloaters can be tough to take down.

"How the hell are we supposed to take this motherfucker down?" The little girl yelled at us from her small cover. I turned my gaze to the side to Joel and was to be met with Joel's questioning glance that quickly transformed into realization. He nodded his head in confirmation, the silent conversation passing between the two.

I got into a position, ready for a sprint. I yelled back, "Like this!" and everything became a blur. As I ran towards the Monster, the Bloater being my only concern, various infected dropped where they were around me with a well-placed bullet in their heads. I heard the girl yell in confusion. My target was drawing near, it was now or never. I threw my Molotov towards the creature and aimed my pistol and fired of a volley of shots, penetrating the weak layer of plating near its knees.

An entire clip of bullets and a raging fire apparently weren't enough as I felt myself being flown into a wall. The impacting blow knocked the air out of my lungs, rendering myself incapable of comprehension. Slowly, I fell to the ground attempting to breathe properly. I heard Joel yell in the background, but I was too dazed to comprehend his words. The acrid smell of the Bloater became overwhelming as he limped closer.

I slowly reached behind myself and unsheathed a sword from its harness that was attached to my backpack. Drawing the blade near, I remained in the crouched position until the Bloater drew closer.

Then, he stopped. Right in front of where I knelt. I looked up curiously to the creature. The Bloater had both of its arms raised up ready to smash me into paste. Just as the Bloater brought his arms down to follow through to his heavy blow, I made my move. Adjusting the blade in my grip I launched up and cut off an offending appendage off of the body. The monster cried out in pain and attempted to swing his other arm at me only accomplishing in losing it as well.

The infected Goliath groaned in pain as it adapted to his loss of arms. With one final move, I swung my sword around resulting in having the bloaters head roll across the ground.

"That's one way to kill it." Joel commented.

"Ah. Geez…what was with that big guy?" Ellie questioned, her nosed scrunched up from the acrid smell emanating from the corpse.

"He's been infected for a long time. We call them bloaters." I provided the girl.

Ellie nodded her head, her ill behavior towards me tuned down, "Bloater. Okay, got it."

"I hate to interrupt your little biology lesson, but can we get the fuck outta here? Please?" Bill interjected. We looked around trying to find a way out of the gym. Then Bill was able to point out and escape out of the death trap, "Let's get on top of these bleachers. Gimme a boost, Joel." Joel walked up to the bleachers and leaned his back against it preparing to lift Bill up. I positioned myself next to Joel mirroring his stance, "Let's go people.

Joel and I nodded, spreading into a stance.

"Here we go." Bill might as well have jumped at us, he was so heavy. It was a struggle to get him up there that Ellie had joined in to make sure he got up upon the bleachers.

Once Bill gets up, Joel motions to Ellie. With one throw, Ellie was was up as well. Just as Joel turned to me for my turn, Bill called out, "Joel, Mags, behind ya!" We both turned around to see in the corner of the room, infected start pouring through the convenient hole in the wall above the door.

"Son of a bitch"Joel curses as he shoots an incoming runner. Another infected leap up from behind his fallen comrade towards the survivor, but was rewarded with a bullet in the brain. Joel and I took out any infected getting in our way.

"Holy shit." I heard Ellie comment from the bleachers.

Bill starts to take shots from his post, "I got it, I got it!"

Sounding bored as ever, Bill decides to make a jab saying, "You're down to the last one. Finish it off already!"

"Oh, I fucking hate those things!" Ellie exclaimed.

"You and me both, kid." I whispered in reply.

"Alright, you got 'em," Bill waves us foreword, "Let's go. Come on up."

* * *

A/N: sorry it's kind of short. I had the other part of this written, but the chopped English was becoming stronger. I felt like an old Chinese lady with a limited knowledge of the English language. (I mean no offense to those who know or are old Chinese ladies. A lot of my family members are. Plus... A lot oh my friends mothers are like that, just with different cultures. Come to think of it... My grandmother as well.) anyways I am currently working on the next chapter, with the help of mason tims. And yes, I promoted (or something along those lines) to those who help me out. These kinds of people need rec... *brain fart* wow... Recognition? Was that it? Idk... It's close enough. I want to thank all those who have followed this story! It means a lot to especially the reviews! I love reviews! I will offer help to those who would need it, and I would accept any ideas that may or may not pop into all of your imagination. I will try my best. Thank you again! Don't forget to review!


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